Unravel
by keep-singing-beth-greene
Summary: After following Daryl, Rick and Michonne on a run, Kasey Atkins' simple life begins to unravel.


**[Hey y'all. This is the first chapter to my Walking Dead fic. This is also my first story on here. I am extremely open to criticism and corrections, so feel free to let me know if something doesn't sound right/isn't accurate. I do not think that this is my best piece of writing, but I'm liking the general swing of things. By the way, I usually hate writing OC fics, but I've been thinking of the main character, Kasey, in my head for quite awhile and I feel like she fits quite well into this story. I'm also attempting to not make her an important character, because not all OCs need to be the main character. Enough of my rambling, I hope y'all will enjoy this chapter. ]**

The piercing sun was slowly starting to set in the blue summer sky. The heat was intense, enough to make your hair stick to the sides of your face. That was just what was happening to Kasey as she cautiously walked through an abandoned parking lot. She looked ahead at the small string of stores in front of her, moving some loose, sweaty strands of hair back behind her ears. Most of the windows were broken, the signs rusted and falling down. This was a sight that the girl had grown accustomed to, it wasn't something new. Her only worry was that the place was looted already.

Before the world went to pure hell, Kasey used to spend these days outside, studying for exams while taking sips of a cool drink. She remembered how worried she was about college and getting her degree. If only she could tell herself just how lucky she had it those many months ago, no matter how hard her life seemed. That life was nothing compared to the struggle that was faced on a daily basis now. It still enraged her that the world had just so suddenly fallen apart. Instead of staying up all night studying, she now stayed up on high alert, looking for walking corpses that could rip her apart and eat her alive. She was alone, which made it all much worse.

Over the months, she improved her survival skills more than she had ever expected to. It almost came naturally to her. Kasey was taught how to use a gun and she taught herself how to use a knife. She knew how to be a quiet, agile person, much like a skilled hunter. Back when she had a group, she did most of the hunting and tracking, becoming a respected member among them. The thought of that group always made Kasey almost sick to her stomach. They got much too carefree, and even eased Kasey into being slightly more laid back, which ended up ruining what they had created.

She pushed thoughts of the past back for the time being. Right now, she had to focus on hopefully finding some new tools, maybe even some new clothes for herself. The girl scanned the area around her, seeing no threats in the parking lot. It was too dark inside of the abandoned stores to see if there was any turned walking about. She threw a rock at one of the windows. Still, no rotting bodies exited the buildings. Grateful she wouldn't have to fight off anything, she stood up from her crouching position to enter the stores.

Her concentration was interrupted by her heart lurching in her chest as the sound of a motorcycle and a car were uncomfortably close by. She instinctively dodged and hid behind a long-forgotten car, and watched through a dirtied window as the two vehicles entered the parking lot. Kasey was aware how tough the times were now, and experienced firsthand how the apocalypse had turned most into cruel people that fended for themselves and their groups.

A man with a crossbow got off of a motorcycle, and another man exited a car along with a woman. Kasey studied them for a moment, noticing that their clothes were decent looking, not too tattered. Not to mention the fact that they had a car and a motorcycle, Kasey's only use of transportation was an old bicycle. _They must have a rather stable camp._ The woman had a long sword draped across her shoulder, one of the men had a crossbow and a knife, and the other man had a gun belt. This made Kasey wonder whether he was once a police officer or he had stolen it.

"Daryl, you go through that store; Michonne, you that one;" the man gestured as he spoke, "remember what we need to get." His voice was smooth and confident as he walked into his designated store, the other two walking to theirs.

Just as they had entered the stores, Kasey ran to another car closer to the road. She had to get out of here before she was spotted, or else the trio might think she was following them. She brought a small dagger from her belt, clutching her gun for a moment to make sure it was easy access. In a few swift, silent movements, Kasey was behind a tree on the opposite side of the road.

The two men and the woman exited the stores after just a few minutes, all of their bags going to the backseat of their car. Kasey envied their stable conditions, and more than anything wanted to join them. She had been by herself for months and didn't know how much longer she could survive like this. The thought of following the small group was rather tempting, and this opportunity probably wouldn't be seen again.

Kasey almost gasped when she saw the man with the crossbow suddenly look up, almost in her general direction. He had such an instinctive look in his eyes, almost as if he was aware of her presence. She hid behind the tree completely, holding her breath as she waited for the vehicles to leave the parking lot. The motorcycle started up first, and then the car. She waited for a minute before running to her bike and hopping on as fast as she could, going in the direction that the trio went.

Kasey was cautious as she rode her bike, only seeing the vehicles she was following when they were making turns. She desperately wished that they didn't see her in return. A few turned passed them, and with a sense of vulnerability she tried her best to ignore them as they slowly limped towards her. She was going fast enough to avoid them, so they weren't much of a threat. Her legs were starting to grow tired and she guessed she had been following them for thirty minutes. She was curious as she realized they were going into an area that had many of those turned things. _How do they have a stable camp in this area?_

Her questions were answered soon when Kasey almost fell off of her bike in shock. They were heading towards a large building, tall fences surrounding it. It only took her a moment to process that they were heading towards a prison. She felt a sudden rush of happiness, but contained it as she realized that she might not be able to live here as well.

Her biked slowed, and she moved to the side of the road so that they wouldn't see her. Getting off of the bike, Kasey brought out her knife and prepared to kill the few turned that were already coming towards her. She cleared her thoughts of anything unimportant, and focused on the turned that were in front of her. She took them out in a few swift movements, each giving them the fatal stab to the head. Kasey had taken on much more than this before.

Leaving her bike, she quietly walked towards the prison, keeping watch of the vehicles that lead her here. She felt nervous, wondering if they would simply kill her once she showed herself. It was too late now, the sun would set in just an hour or so, and Kasey did not like traveling in the dark.

She waited for a while, watching as the motorcycle and car entered through gates that were opened by two people. It was hard to see, though, since she was watching from the woods that were across a large clearing in front of the prison. Kasey killed the turned around her as quietly as she could, and saw that there were a couple dozen more of them in the clearing. Sighing a bit loudly, she gave up on lying low and started to walk towards the prison, showing herself to anyone looking. On her way there, she noticed that many people started to gather at the fence. They all looked cautious, and Kasey noticed that the man she had seen with the so called Daryl and Michonne had already brought out his gun. After killing the closest turned around her, Kasey put her dagger back through her belt loop and raised her arms as she neared the fence, trying to seem as least threatening as possible.

"Stop right there!" the man with the gun said sternly, pointing his gun at Kasey.

"I saw ya'll back at those stores," Kasey began, "I'm all by myself back at my camp, and I just wanted to see what ya'll had goin' on. My name's Kasey."

She felt rather pitiful as she tried to show she wasn't bothersome, but she had to get into this camp, at least for the night. Kasey knew that she would get lost on those roads at night. She was never the nicest person, and figured that her words came out ruder than expected. A pretty, young blonde girl looked to the man holding the gun and spoke.

"Rick, look at her, she looks like she hasn't had a good meal in weeks," her voice was so gentle; it brought Kasey a bit of reassurance.

"Now Beth, we might not be able to trust this girl. She's a stranger to us," an old man was next to talk.

"Ya'll are strangers to me," Kasey said a bit too sternly, looking them in the eyes with a determined expression. She realized how true this was, and wondered if they were going to kill her or not.

There was silence for a little while, as if they were all waiting for the other to say something. A few of them shares glances, but still, no words were said. Kasey was just desperately hoping that they would let her in their camp just for the night. She already saw that the sun was rather low in the sky, which meant she would never get back to her camp before dark. Finally, Rick spoke.

"You can stay for the night. But we'll be keeping our eyes on you. One wrong move and you're dead." His voice was cold yet collected; it sent shivers down Kasey's spine. The gates opened, and she quietly entered through them. Once they closed, Kasey looked up at Rick.

"Thank you," she said firmly, then looked around at the rest of the group, "y'all are kind people."

The group situated Kasey in a cell that was on the second story of the group's cell block. They gave her a small meal and some water, which she gladly accepted. Her cell was small, cold and very empty, but the girl hadn't seen something more comfortable in months. She carefully set down the bag she was carrying, and lightly sat on the bed. A sigh escaped her chapped lips as she looked around, listening to the group talking downstairs. It was dark outside by now, only a few lights set up on the first floor bringing light to the place. She could see down the stairs and watched as Daryl slowly walked up them, then stopped in front of Kasey's room.

"I'm keepin' watch on you for now," his voice had a deep southern drawl that fit his edgy and greasy look, and made Kasey think of home.

"Alright, thank you for allowin' me to stay her-"

"I didn't allow nothin', girl," Daryl suddenly spat, a rude tone overlapping with his thick southern accent, "It wasn't my decision."

Kasey was slightly taken aback by his tone, but accepted it. It did seem to fit his looks plenty. It's not like she wasn't used to it, she herself was a very rude person for the most part, along with most of her old friends. She knew what this man was like, though, and decided that not talking too much would be the best option. She held her tongue and decided not to ask all of the questions she had in her head regarding the prison.

"You knew that I felt you were there back at them stores, didn't ya?" She was surprised when Daryl spoke again.

"Yeah, I did. You must've been a hunter," Kasey found herself trying to make conversation. After all, it had been so long since she was around people, especially someone that reminded her so strongly of the past. Daryl was quiet for a moment, and then looked her in the eyes.

"I was."

It was a simple phrase, but she could see that he was remembering past events as she stared back into his eyes. He didn't have a look of happiness, but rather some bitterness. Kasey broke eye contact, unable to hold his harsh gaze for too long. She stopped talking, and lay back onto her impermanent bed. She let a very small smile creep onto her lips as she felt her head press into the soft pillow.

Kasey awoke to the feeling of a hand shaking her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she saw Daryl was the one that woke her. He looked uncomfortable as he touched her, and Kasey noticed that his touch was very light. He obviously wasn't the type to accept human contact too often.

"I'm awake."

Her voice sounded groggy, and she felt much too comfortable in the bed. She had been sleeping on a blanket on the forest floor for a long time. The girl wanted nothing more than to close her eyes again and sleep through the day, knowing that she was safe. But she knew that she was not welcome here, and had stayed much too long.

"It's time for you to go," Daryl said, Kasey unable to detect sympathy in his voice.

Without responding, Kasey sat up in the bed, rubbing her eyes before grabbing her bag. The girl had never felt such disappointment in her life. She knew that she would die sooner or later as long as she was by herself. But, even with this in mind, she would never be ungrateful for what these people provided her, even if it was just for one night. Checking to make sure she had her gun and her dagger, Kasey stood up and walked passed Daryl, giving him a simple nod as a thank you.

When she walked down the short flight of stairs, the girl Beth was waiting. Next to her was the old man from the gate yesterday, and a brunette that was standing with a young man that had black hair. The young girl, Beth, smiled at her then handed her a bag she was holding.

"This is for you," her sweet voice said, "I'm sorry that you can't stay."

Kasey simply nodded, and then gently grabbed the bag. She didn't want to take it; she knew that this group had many more mouths to feed. When Kasey opened the bag, she found a few articles of clothing and some food. Looking around, the girl noticed that there was a young boy holding a baby in his arms, and suddenly she felt guilty. These people needed all they could get.

"I don't deserve all this," Kasey whispered, "Y'all need it." She went to give the bag back to Beth when Rick walked up to her.

"No, take it," his voice sounded a lot more sincere than before, "You need it more than us. Also," He pulled a few bullets from his pocket, "take these." Kasey silently took them, knowing that her objections wouldn't be listened to. She looked around at the group one last time, mainly getting straight faces and a couple uncomfortable smiles, and then walked towards the outside, Daryl now next to her along with Rick. After a moment, Michonne was there as well.

They walked in silence, and she didn't look at the trio that she had originally followed. She felt some guilt for following them here in the first place, and knew that she would've never been able to stay here. This was one of the best places she had found since this all begun, but silently accepted that this wasn't her place to stay. Watching the group last night, she knew that they had been with each other for a long time.

"Can you handle the walkers out there?" Rick asked, referring to the turned that were walking along the fence. She simply nodded, then walked out as she exited the fence.

Kasey sliced away at the walkers in front of her, there were about three. She killed them with ease, shrugging them off as she felt more and more upset about leaving these people. She didn't want to be alone again. It had been so long. She looked back one last time, looking over the three that watched her as she left. She nodded, trying to look as grateful as she could. Rick responded with a gentle nod, Michonne the same. Daryl simply looked at her for a moment before turning and walking back towards the rest of the group. With that, she turned and kept walking, sometimes stopping to get rid of a walker that grew too close for comfort.


End file.
